When the topic of agriculture is broached, more often than not, livestock is mentioned as a side note, in passing. However, figures show that within Sub-Saharan Africa, livestock plays a vital and important role in the everyday lives of most farming communities.

According to the Kenya-based International Livestock Research Institute, within the global agricultural sector, livestock is crucial, and its importance only increases with national economic growth. Globally, the most important agricultural commodity is cow's milk, followed by rice, beef, pork, chicken, wheat and eggs. In developing countries, following rice (the number one commodity) are indigenous beef and cow's milk.

Livestock production employs more than 1.3 billion people worldwide, with livestock being a mainstay of the livelihoods of some 600 million poor farmers in the developing world, including some 100 million landless poor people.

For many smallholder farmers, livestock is the only ready source of cash to buy inputs for crop production - seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Livestock income also goes toward buying things farmers cannot produce themselves, which includes paying for school fees, medicine and taxes. Livestock is also a relatively stable source of income compared to cropping, which is highly seasonal. Livestock has a high rate of reproduction and growth, providing much needed quick cash upon sale – including milk products like butter and cheese. In addition, larger animals represent a form of saving, or financial piggy bank, acting as much needed reserves able to be sold quickly when crops are poor or when the family is facing large expenses such as the cost of a wedding or a hospital bill.

In Africa, livestock production currently accounts for about 30 percent of the gross value of agricultural production in Africa. An estimated 70 percent of the rural poor in Africa own livestock, including pastoralists living in arid and semi-arid zones. Of these, over 200 million rely on their livestock for income (sales of milk, meat, skins) as well as draught power and fertilizer for crop growing. 

The importance of livestock cannot be overlooked. The very survival and prosperity of entire communities' is dependent on the health of their livestock. On a global scale, this is a daily reality for an estimated 700 million of the world's poorest peoples. On a regional level, for example, livestock rearing plays a key role in the economies of West African countries, at times providing 44 percent of agricultural GDP. With 60 million heads of cattle and 400 million poultry, the Sahel and West Africa represents an important region for livestock rearing.

There are, nonetheless, major constraints to having and depending on livestock, which are mainly linked to disease as well as a general lack of investment at the local and international levels. Farmers are confronted with several barriers ranging from being able to trade livestock at the regional and international levels to accessing livestock inputs. A lack of up-to-date and reliable data only compounds the problem, with local and national policies unable to have a clear idea of the issues facing the sector and therefore unable to establish coherent policies.

Observers note that Africa has the potential to become a major producer of livestock, supplying local, regional and international markets – but only if this potential is managed coherently and recognized as vital to growth throughout the continent.

Significant steps need to be taken to ensure that this essential element in the livelihoods of millions is understood, developed, protected and given the appropriate importance. Government agencies as well as international organizations need to include livestock in poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs), as these papers still tend to underestimate the critical role livestock can play in poverty alleviation. 

According to The Economist, in order to grow more food on the global level, the main gains will have to come in three ways: from narrowing the gap between the worst and best producers; from spreading the so-called "livestock revolution;" andabove all, from taking advantage of new plant technologies. One just has to look at China, where meat consumption has more than doubled in 1980-2005 to 50 kg a year per person. This simple fact highlights that improving livestock farming is important because of meat's growing share in the world's diet. A final thought that should highlight the significance of livestock: between now and 2050, meat's share of calories will rise from 7 percent to 9 percent, according to the FAO.

(The writer is Communications Manager of EMRC – an internationally renowned organization providing a platform for Africa's private and public sector to come together and discuss partnership opportunities - www.emrc.be)